| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: erect and firm, reddening to the very ears, without daring to cast
a glance either to the right or to the left, with his hand thrust
into his coat like a statesman. At the moment when he passed,--
under the cannon of the place,--he felt his heart beat wildly.
As on the preceding day, she wore her damask gown and her crape bonnet.
He heard an ineffable voice, which must have been "her voice."
She was talking tranquilly. She was very pretty. He felt it,
although he made no attempt to see her. "She could not, however,"
he thought, "help feeling esteem and consideration for me, if she
only knew that I am the veritable author of the dissertation on
Marcos Obregon de la Ronde, which M. Francois de Neufchateau put,
 Les Miserables |
The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from Chance by Joseph Conrad: perceptible in fact to the sharpened faculties of a secret watcher;
for it can't be denied that our wits are much more alert when
engaged in wrong-doing (in which one mustn't be found out) than in a
righteous occupation.
He became suspicious, with no one and nothing definite in his mind.
He was suspicious of the curtain itself and observed it. It looked
very innocent. Then just as he was ready to put it down to a trick
of imagination he saw trembling movements where the two curtains
joined. Yes! Somebody else besides himself had been watching
Captain Anthony. He owns artlessly that this roused his
indignation. It was really too much of a good thing. In this state
 Chance |